The Jewel I Found That Day
by pizzasavesall
Summary: Cyborgs! Robots! Cart lifting!


My name is Gneesa, or so that's what they told me. I'm a cyborg, a gynoid variant of the half human and half machine species. I awoke one day on a planet I never saw before, surrounded by Neimodian doctors and their assistants. They said I was the future of mankind. I saw myself in the mirror next to my bed. I was a monster. I looked natural on the outside, but internally my organic and robotic parts were fighting for dominance. I believe I was only flesh before that eventful day, but my memories remain vague and distant. I kept getting visions of a city whenever I would rest. An enthralling metropolis that was a melting pot of species and culture, this lead me to believe that my original home was Coruscant.

Time has passed since my awakening and I have found an occupation as a smuggler. I have lived in the megacity for many years now, trying to find clues to my unknown history. I have had little to no luck with my searches. I hope that eventually I would meet someone who recognized me but that's the problem with Coruscant; there are so many individuals here. I thought about this as I unloaded some small carts off of my Tauntaun. I looked at my goods and sighed, my mount nuzzled against my cold face. I gave him a pat on the head, "You stay here. I'll be back soon." I cooed to the creature. The animal let out a quick whine as I left him.

Carrying the one cart was difficult, but bringing a Tauntaun to help me didn't feel professional. My customers were Rodian higher ups of the Hutt Cartel that requested me to get a rare jewel. Why they were so keen on the amber gem is beyond me, but they promised to pay me handsomely for my troubles. How could I say no to such a deal? After several minutes of struggling to carry the particular box, I set it down as I rested myself onto it. I was nearly out of breath. I hoped at that moment that the Rodians were going to live up to their promise.

Many of the city folk passed by, with the occasional look or stare. I covered myself with my long cloak, embarrassed by the way that I appeared. A Bith man walked by and gave me three coins. I gaped at the money for a moment and then raised my head; the fellow was already gone in the crowd. I was not homeless! Irregardless of my more than fine financial situation, I stuffed the currency into my pockets. I looked at the concrete ground blankly for a minute or two before I heard a voice. A frantic, robotic sounding one that seemed afraid of the city.

There was a droid in the crowd that stood out like a sore thumb. He wore a black cloak, possibly to obscure himself from any nasty people. He was a protocol robot with dazzling gold plating. He looked like a fairly new member of the renowned 3PO line, judging by his appearance. Like any other machine he couldn't express his emotions by facial features, but it was clear that the droid robot was concerned.

I put my hand on his shoulder as he drew near where I was sitting. He jumped slightly and looked at me, "P-please don't damage me!" He spoke urgently, "I'm only a droid."

I thought he was overreacting, but we weren't in the best parts of town. I moved my hand away and asked, "Where are you going?"  
The robot hesitated, "I'm not going anywhere. Well," He readjusted his hood, "I'm looking for my mistress." He said hopelessly, he clearly was having trouble finding the woman.

"And that is...?" I drew out my response.

"Mistress!" He looked around and then made himself more quiet, "...Padme."

I raised an eyebrow, "Really? Is she hiding or something?"

The gold machine ignored my question and began to walk away, calling out the name of his master again.

"Wait!" I stood up; the robot stopped and looked back at me. "Maybe I can be a part of your search," I offered, "I need to get to the central area of the city. Maybe she's there." I said with a slight shrug.

He looked me over and then looked at the surrounding people. "I suppose." He reluctantly agreed as he turned his head back to my direction.

I got up from the cart and with a grunt, attempted to pick up the case I used as a seat. I could feel my legs tremble as I tried to carry it. I began to walk with hazard, occasionally wobbling to directions I did not want to go. The droid kept his distance as he cautiously watched me struggle.

"Would you like some help, miss?" He finally spoke after a minute of me nearly crashing into people.

"Yes," I groaned as I leaned towards him and attempted to give half of the weight. The robot was not stronger than me, but we equally sharing the burden made the box easier to carry. I let one hand go as I pointed to the north, "That way."

As we began to walk as a team I looked at him, while keeping my attention on the city through my peripheral vision. "So, who are you?"

"Oh! I'm C-3PO, human-cyborg relations." The 3PO line droid replied happily, "Yourself, miss?"

It made me curious that he mentioned interacting with cyborgs. Were there more of us out there? It made me hopeful; maybe I wasn't the only one that had to go through those horrors. Maybe it was something that they were quiet about, possibly people confused them with being droids. Droids don't seem to get much respect.

"People call me Gneesa." I finally spoke, "It's nice to meet you." I said as together we stopped; I looked up at the Coruscant skyline. In front of us there was a large, impressive hotel with a vast number of rooms. It was only for the incredibly wealthy.

I began to take the rest of the cart that the robot was carrying, "Well," I said as I struggled to the put the item onto the ground, "This is my stop." I looked back up at the droid, he let out a quiet 'oh' as if he was reluctant to accept it.

"Very well," He replied with a slight disappointment in his voice, "I'm glad that I could be of some assistance."

"You were a great help, now the next challenge for me is to get this up the stairs." I said with a quick laugh. I smiled and held out my hand, "I hope you find your mistress safely."

C-3PO looked at my right hand for a moment before shaking it, "Yes, thank you." He said with a nod.

I turned my back and grabbed the cart, pulling it as I walked up the stares backwards to the hotel's entrance. I got up the first stack before taking a brief break, looking out at the street. I watched as the concerned droid walked away, beginning to call out his master Padme's name. I only wished well for that robot.


End file.
